February 26th, 2020

Reading: 2 Kings, chapters 17 vs 7 through, chapter 22. This section covered the reason for Israel’s fall, the reign of Hezekia in Jerusalem, the return to worship of the Lord, followed by a turning away from the Lord under kings Manasseh and Amon; lastly, a turning back to the Lord under Josiah king of Judah. Israel fell because they feared other gods,¹ forsaking all the commandments of the Lord their God; they fell into Idolatry.² The people that replaced them were no better.³ When the king of Assyria came to destroy Jerusalem, Hezekiah prayed a prayer of repentance and the Lord the God of all creation listened to Hezekiah king of Judah and kept Assyria away.⁴ Through the prophets, the Lord promised the destruction of Jerusalem because of the return to Idolatry under Manasseh and Amon.⁵ The book of the Law is discovered in the temple. Through the Huldah prophetess, Josiah understands the reason for Israel’s destruction.⁶ 

I am working a half-day today, 7:30am–12:30pm. I will work 3 cardiac rehab classes this morning. When I got off work yesterday, I returned to exercise myself by riding a stationary bike for 30 minutes. I was able to do this without pain and it is the best activity because my foot does not flex when doing this activity and there is no weight barring on the heel. The doctor told me that he is ok with me riding a stationary bike during the 6 weeks of recovery. I will follow doctor Hosch’s orders and wear this boot when walking for the next 6 weeks and my aerobic exercise will be done on a stationary bike. I think that I should go today and find a biking shoe because they are stiff and keep the foot from flexing when riding a bike. 

This evening, at Sylvania we will be preparing for our mission’s conference. We will be entertaining a speaker, Kent Parks. I do not know this man but Dr. Dave Rowlett recommended him to speak at our conference. The conference will begin with a dinner on Friday evening and go through the Sunday morning corporate worship service. Paul McClung is coming to the conference and we will have a table at the conference for the Cuban pastor teaching ministry. 

¹ 2 Kings 17:7.

² Ibid, 17:16.

³ Ibid, 17:41.

⁴ Ibid, 19:14-19.

⁵ Ibid, 21.

⁶ Ibid, 22.